City Manager Expected to Name New Police Chief This Month

According to the City Manager, the new police chief will be announced this month.

“We are still tracking for a mid-November announcement, as was set forth in the CM letter to CPOC [Community Police Oversight Committee],” City Manager Miguel Márquez told Pasadena Now.

Márquez would not disclose how many finalists are in the running.

The names of the finalists will not be revealed due to personnel matters that could arise in other cities.

But according to someone familiar with the search at least three finalists emerged after interviews by two panels, one panel made up of local residents and a second made up of law enforcement officials.

The panels provided the City Manager with important feedback to assist in final interviews.

Last month Márquez told the police oversight commission that an announcement would be made in November.

Currently Jason Clawson serves as the interim police chief.

Márquez will be the third consecutive City Manager to choose a new police chief.

Michael Beck chose Philip Sanchez and Steve Mermell hired John Perez.

The city has been without a hired police chief since Perez retired last year.
“Our goal is to have the new Chief in place as soon as possible,” Márquez said. “This process, as most executive search and interview processes, is confidential given that, among other things, applicants do not want to negatively affect present employment by having it known they are applying for a job elsewhere. While we believe in transparency, there are times when it is outweighed by privacy and other public policy interests.”

The new police chief will make at least $233,525.00, according to a previous listing on governmentjobs.com. The salary is in line with other police chiefs across the region.

The next chief will have to deal with several issues, including calls by a small group of local residents that have called out on the City Council to cut the police budget and redistribute the funds to other departments, a police oversight commission and independent police auditor already in place.

The hunt for a new chief has roiled up the past for some.

Earlier this year, a small but vocal group of participants showed up at an online Town Hall to criticize former chiefs and shine a light on police shootings, some of which occurred more than 10 years ago.

“The new chief,” the first speaker began, “will need to address the fact that the Pasadena police department has quite a long history of racism and racially biased policing, and particularly racial bias toward the Black community in Pasadena, which has led to officer-involved shootings with Black community members who’ve been killed by police officers.”